Other Law Services

Robert Pearson Law provides counseling, transactional, and litigation services to businesses and individuals. We also operate in the dispute resolution, elder law, conservators/guardianships, personal injury, and family law spaces.

Alternative dispute resolution, or “ADR,” is simply an alternative way to resolve disputes other than going through the court process. Mediations and arbitrations are both ADR processes. Compared to litigation, ADR can be faster, cheaper, more private, and less adversarial. Mediations and arbitrations are different.

Mediation

A mediation (aka settlement conference) is a time for the parties to sit down (face to face, if necessary, but often in separate rooms) and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their cases with a neutral third-party to try to settle the case. It is non-binding, meaning the mediator makes no final decisions on the facts, law, or claims. Although the parties may present their case to the mediator by submitting written position statements and relevant evidence gathered to date, the mediator does not make any final decisions about them. The mediator simply uses the information to facilitate a discussion to help find a settlement if one exists. Mediations can be held early in a case, or after months of litigation and attorneys’ fees incurred.

Arbitration

Arbitrations, on the other hand, produce decisions. Unlike at a mediation, at an arbitration, the arbitrator will decide the claims and issues in the case. Whether that decision is binding or non-binding depends on the parties’ underlying arbitration agreement, but often the arbitrator’s decision is binding, meaning the parties pretty much have to live with it. Private arbitrations can be cheaper and faster than a full-blown lawsuit, but sometimes they’re just as slow and expensive.

Serving as Mediator

Robert can be hired to serve as a mediator. In that role, Robert tries to take a smart, practical, cost-conscious approach, treating parties and counsel with respect, allowing them to be heard, and helping them craft a reasonable solution that takes into account the objective strengths and weaknesses of the parties’ positions. Robert understands disputes, including their risks, financial realities, the toll they take on litigants, and the inherent uncertainty in putting your case in the hands of a judge or jury. As a mediator, Robert can help the parties reach a resolution both sides can live with.

Serving as Arbitrator

As an arbitrator, Robert moves differently. He’s thorough yet efficient, taking time to understand the facts, law, and parties’ positions–with an eye not so much toward finding a middle-ground settlement, but rather toward getting the case and outcome right under the facts, law, and equities of the particular case. The parties have had a chance to find a middle ground, and now that they’re in arbitration, they need a decision. That’s what a superior court judge would do in a lawsuit. That’s what Robert does in arbitration.

In the late 1990s, Arizona criminalized abuse of an incapacitated or vulnerable adult, designating elder abuse a felony. The next year, the legislature expanded protections by creating a statutory civil cause of action for elder abuse. Elder mistreatment includes financial exploitation or neglect of health and safety.

Common issues in elder abuse matters include whether the plaintiff was “incapacitated” or “vulnerable” at the time of the conduct at issue. Those aren’t the same thing. An “incapacitated” adult means a person who can’t make informed decisions. A “vulnerable” adult may be able to make informed decisions, but might still be unable to protect themselves against abuse, neglect, or exploitation. Other issues include whether someone in a “position of trust or confidence” failed to act properly in their dealings with the vulnerable adult, or took control of or mismanaged their property with the intent to take it permanently. Depending on the circumstances of the claim, a successful plaintiff may be able to recover elevated monetary damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees and costs.  We advise on, prosecute, and defend elder-abuse matters.

A conservator and guardian are similar in that they are positions of trust in which someone makes decisions for another, but they’re different in subject matter. A guardian makes decisions about care for another person. A conservator manages another person’s financial affairs. They can be appointed to protect a “vulnerable adult,” meaning a person lacking sufficient mental capacity to make informed, responsible decisions about themselves or their finances. The probate court appoints guardians and conservators. We help folks be appointed guardians and conservatives to protect vulnerable adults, along with handling termination and changes to guardianships and conservators.

We handle both sides of personal injury cases–whether it’s representing insurance carriers and working with their adjusters to defend personal injury claims made against their insureds, or prosecuting personal injury claims to recover compensation for injured plaintiffs. We know the objectives and risk calculations on both sides of a personal injury dispute, and we put that knowledge to work for our clients.

Although family law is not currently a core practice area, we’ll perform limited family law services on select matters. Also, with our general-counseling subscription service, we’ll counsel on legal implications of limited family-law issues.